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Monday, August 18, 2014

Want To Gain More Knowledge About Bigfoot?

Out Fox a Fox?

This Post By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher. Dorraine is a Professional Writer, a nature, wildlife and Bigfoot enthusiast who has written for many magazines. Dorraine conducts research, special interviews and more for The Crypto Crew. Get Dorraine's book The Book Of Blackthorne!

Want To Gain More Knowledge About Bigfoot?Maybe You’re Doing It All WrongBy Dorraine Fisher

Every once in a while, I go back and watch really old documentaries about bigfoot. Some might think it’s humorous or simply a waste of time, but there’s a really good reason I do it. It helps me realize that progress is being made in the field. No matter how many people are still laughing or turning up their noses at the subject, I know great strides have been made. It points me in the direction to go from here, because there’s still a lot left to learn.

But there is so much debate and so many roadblocks get thrown up on our way. How do we rise above all that and really expand our ability to gain knowledge on the subject?

Well, the answer is somewhat complicated, and at the same time, as plain as the nose on your face. Every time we’ve made assumptions about these creatures or listened to science when it developed hypotheses, they’ve been turned on their ear…or at least educated suggestions have caused reasonable doubt. So, as strange as it may sound, when we’re trying to solve all the little mysteries of Bigfoot, maybe we need to just automatically turn our attention to the opposite side of the spectrum. Flip it on its underbelly and examine it from the other side.

The first original hypothesis is that they are some kind of great ape. It made sense, right? That’s what they look like. It seems logical. But the judgment made by science was to assume that they should fit into a category that matched the behavior and appearance of other great apes. But now most of us are slowly beginning to realize they don’t quite fit into this category since they don’t always behave like gorillas, and they seem much more advanced. If they are indeed a great ape, they need a whole new category for classification; one that defies the old rules. So if they don’t fit into that great ape category, are they a great ape or not? Do we give them a new category, or do we try to slip them into one of the conventional ones?

It was originally believed that sasquatches require wilderness in which to live and the enormous food source that wilderness has to offer. But the pin points on the sightings map are getting closer together and venturing out into non-wilderness areas more and more. The term “suburban bigfoot” is starting to creep into our consciousness as more sightings are closer to home. Once again, our hairy friends made liars out of us.

And now the new idea is that they may be some kind of human. Okay, fine. Let’s work on that. Hundreds of sightings suggest a human-like appearance. It seems logical that some kind of offshoot of our species survived in its original “wild” state alongside us for all these thousands of years, undetected. It could happen. It would explain their seemingly high intelligence level. But what criteria do we use to decide something is “human?”

For years, it appeared that science rejected this theory anyway, to some degree. Possibly because so many thinkers have a problem with calling something human if it’s not at least nearly as sophisticated as we are; meaning a similar intelligence level, progress level, and level of basic ability and technical ability. Chimps are our known closest living relatives, but they are not considered human since they haven’t built civilizations or super computers, or they simply can’t put pegs in holes as fast as a human. Is that what defines something as human? Or is it simply DNA structure? And who decides?

So this begs the question: do we need to rethink everything? Probably, because here’s the thing: If bigfoot has taught us anything, it’s that some things just can’t be lumped into the normal categories. Sometimes we have to be able to think beyond what’s acceptable and normal and…classifiable.

We humans have this burning need to categorize, classify, lump into groups, organize into files, and buy furniture with drawers just so we can wrap our minds around certain things. Just so we can make sense of things that wouldn’t otherwise make sense. Why? Because that’s how our brains process things. That’s how we were designed. We can’t help it, right? Well, not so fast. Because the most amazing thing about the brain is that you can use your own mind to conquer the limitations of your own mind. Just knowing you NEED to think differently can open up a whole new world of thought. We can all go places we’ve never gone before…right inside the confines of our own heads. If you understand what puts limitations on your thinking, it suddenly won’t be limiting any more. And that’s because the human mind is capable of so much more than we think. And each and every one of us has that capability. And that’s the mind you need when you’re trying to sort out the details about cryptids.

People who believe in bigfoot, the paranormal, the mysterious, are one step ahead of the rest. If you’ve seen strange things that you couldn’t explain or if you’ve had things happen to you that defied reason, you have a distinct advantage. Your brain has learned something very important. Your imagination has the ability to stretch beyond the norm. You’ve had to sort that out in your mind and find a way to make peace with it and come to understand that there are things out there that you may never fully understand. And when you can do that, you’ve made a huge leap towards actually coming to understand, not only that, but a lot of other things too. And that’s an amazing advance in human brain evolution, right inside your own head.

So, what if we’re all not weird after all? What if we’re just psychologically advanced? That might seem funny, but is it really? Sure, it’s a lot of fun to talk about Bigfoot, but there’s a lot we can derive from it besides fun. It’s an exercise in being able to begin to comprehend something that was once thought to be beyond comprehension.

The world of bigfoot research is strange in many ways. But it’s an opportunity to learn to step outside the comfort zone of our cozy little conventional thought box and imagine that things might be different than what we think. Because with bigfoot, that’s very probable.
**********DF

Anon - Except that the majority of people who see a bigfoot weren't believers beforehand and/or didn't have any interest at all. Why should their "imaginations" even go there? There are plenty of sightings from people whose opinions generally have great standing in our society (Doctors, Scientist, Military, Law Enforcement) and their testimony could easily put you away for murder, but if it's about a bigfoot sighting it's just "imagination" or mis-identification?

well said. Bigfoot is 100 percent real, nothing could ever change my mind about what I have encounter, seen, and discovered while researching. people who totally dismiss the idea of bigfoot are the ones that are really missing out on a very rare creature.